A business law blog published by the business lawyers at AttorneyBritt - Gary L. Britt, CPA, J.D. Commentary and information regarding the laws and regulations applicable to individuals, corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs); as they relate to the myriad of business transactions, contracts, and agreements every business owner, shareholder, member, physician, and/or health care provider must consider.

Monday, September 28, 2015

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today urged taxpayers whose
tax-filing extension runs out on Oct. 15 to double check their returns
for often-overlooked tax benefits and then file their returns
electronically using IRS e-file or the Free File system.
About a quarter of the 13 million taxpayers who requested an automatic six-month extension
this year have yet to file. Although Oct. 15 is the last day for most
people, some still have more time, including members of the military and
others serving in combat zone
localities who typically have until at least 180 days after they leave
the combat zone to both file returns and pay any taxes due.

“If you still need to file, don’t forget that you can still file
electronically through October 15,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.
“Many people may not realize they may be eligible to use Free File
available on IRS.gov/freefile. Free File is free tax software that takes
the guesswork out of return preparation. Even if you’re filing in the
final days, filing electronically remains easy, safe and the most
accurate way to file your taxes.”

Check Out Tax Benefits
Before filing, the IRS encourages taxpayers to take a moment to see if they qualify for these and other often-overlooked credits and deductions:

Benefits for low-and moderate-income workers and families, especially the Earned Income Tax Credit. The special EITC Assistant can help taxpayers see if they’re eligible.

Savers credit, claimed on Form 8880, for low-and moderate-income workers who contributed to a retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k).

Health Care Tax Reporting
While most taxpayers will simply need to check a box on their tax
return to indicate they had health coverage for all of 2014, there are
also new lines on Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ related to the health care law. Visit IRS.gov/aca for details on how the Affordable Care Act affects the 2014 return. This includes:

Reporting health insurance coverage.

Claiming an exemption from the coverage requirement.

Making an individual shared responsibility payment.

Claiming the premium tax credit.

Reconciling advance payments of the premium tax credit. Properly
doing so can help maintain continued eligibility for premium assistance
in 2016.

The Interactive Tax Assistant
tool can also help determine if a taxpayer qualifies for an exemption,
needs to make a payment or is eligible for the premium tax credit.
Taxpayers who intend to claim the Health Coverage Tax Credit
for 2014 must first file an original 2014 tax return without claiming
the HCTC, even if they have no other filing requirement . They can then
file an amended return when the IRS issues further HCTC guidance. Visit
irs.gov/hctc for updates.

E-file Now: It’s Fast, Easy and Often Free
The IRS urges taxpayers to choose the speed and convenience of
electronic filing. Fast, accurate and secure, filing electronically is
an ideal option for those rushing to meet the Oct. 15 deadline. The IRS
verifies receipt of an e-filed return, and people who file
electronically make fewer mistakes too. Of the nearly 144 million
returns received by the IRS so far this year, about 86 percent or over
124 million have been e-filed.

Taxpayers who purchase their own software can also choose to e-file,
and most paid tax preparers are now required to file their clients’
returns electronically.
Everyone can use Free File, either the brand-name software, offered
by the IRS’s commercial partners to individuals and families with
incomes of $60,000 or less, or online fillable forms, the electronic
version of IRS paper forms available to taxpayers at all income levels.

Join the eight in 10 taxpayers who get their refunds faster by using
direct deposit and e-file. Taxpayers can choose to have their refunds
deposited into as many as three accounts. See Form 8888 for details.

Quick and Easy Payment Options
The IRS Direct Pay system offers taxpayers the fastest and easiest way to pay what they owe. Available through the Pay Your Tax Bill
icon on IRS.gov, this free online system allows individuals to securely
pay their tax bills or make quarterly estimated tax payments directly
from checking or savings accounts without any fees or pre-registration.
So far this year, more than 4.1 million tax payments totaling over $15
billion have been received from individual taxpayers through Direct Pay.

Taxpayers can also pay by debit or credit card. While the IRS does
not charge a fee for this service, the payment processer will. Other
e-pay options include the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (pre-registration is required) and Electronic Funds Withdrawal which is available when e-Filing. Taxpayers can even e-pay what they owe using, IRS2Go
, the agency’s popular mobile phone app. All of the electronic payment
options are quick, easy and secure and much faster than mailing in a
check or money order. Those choosing to pay by check or money order
should make the payment out to the “United States Treasury.”

Taxpayers with extensions should file their returns by Oct. 15, even
if they can’t pay the full amount due. By doing so, taxpayers will avoid
the late-filing penalty, normally five percent per month, that would
otherwise apply to any unpaid balance after Oct. 15. However, interest,
currently at the rate of 3 percent per year compounded daily, and
late-payment penalties, normally 0.5 percent per month, will continue to
accrue.

Fresh Start for Struggling Taxpayers
In many cases, those struggling to pay taxes qualify for one of
several relief programs. Most people can set up a payment agreement with
the IRS on line in a matter of minutes. Those who owe $50,000 or less
in combined tax, penalties and interest can use the Online Payment Agreement
to set up a monthly payment agreement for up to 72 months or request a
short-term payment plan. Taxpayers can choose this option even if they
have not yet received a bill or notice from the IRS.

Taxpayers can also request a payment agreement by filing Form 9465. This form can be downloaded from IRS.gov and mailed along with a tax return, bill or notice.
Alternatively, some struggling taxpayers qualify for an Offer-in-Compromise.
This is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the
taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
Generally, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes the
liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment
agreement. The IRS looks at the taxpayer’s income and assets to make a
determination regarding the taxpayer’s ability to pay. To help determine
eligibility, use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier, a free online tool available on IRS.gov.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Fired in 2005, after six years in office, several
leading publications titled Fiorina one of the worst technology CEOs of all
time.

In 1999, a dysfunctional HP board committee, filled with its own
poisoned politics, hired her with no CEO experience, nor interviews with
the full board. Fired in 2005, after six years in office, several
leading publications titled her one of the worst technology CEOs of all
time. In fact, the stock popped 10% on the news of her firing and closed
the day up 7%.

Arianna Packard, the granddaughter of HP’s founder, commented when
discouraging voters from supporting Fiorina in her 2010 senatorial run,
“I know a little bit about Carly Fiorina, having watched her almost
destroy the company my grandfather founded.”

Sure, she doubled revenues—through a massive, ill-conceived,
controversial acquisition of Compaq Computer in 2002—but Fiorina did
nothing to increase profits over her five-year term, with the S&P
500 showing net income across enterprises concomitantly up 70%.
Furthermore, shareholder wealth at HP was sliced 52% under her reign
against the S&P, which was down only 15% in that bearish period. She
modeled the old joke of “making it up in the volume.”

The lost shareholder wealth and lost strategic direction at HP are only
part of Fiorina’s legacy. Also lost during her reign were 30,000 U.S.
tech jobs, the company’s revered employee morale, and the egalitarian,
humble HP way culture. A new defensive, finger-pointing style of
leadership led to waves of firing. Dissent was equated with disloyalty
as discovered by Walter Hewlett, a board member and son of HP’s
co-founder, when he questioned Fiorina’s misguided Compaq acquisition
strategy and refused to be bullied into a board statement of unanimous
consent, suffering legal and personal threats.

Climate scientists issue "fatwa" against those who question their global warming religion and urge Obama to join them in a jihad against the non-believers.

20 "climate scientists" scientists from major universities want to prosecute the thought crime of opposing global warming religion. They want to play the part of the Pope to the Gallileo's who dare criticize the false cult beliefs of their global warming religion. Full story and a copy of their letter can be found here.

One of the first things a republican president should do is defund every university's science department that employs one of these idiot high priests of global warming.

Remember in Gallileo's day it was settled science that the sun revolved around the earth. And Gallileo was prosecuted by the high priest of settled science - the Pope. Now these morons who call themselves scientists want their turn to be the Pope of "settled science". In other times it was scientific opinion that trains could not travel faster than 15 miles per hour or all the air would be sucked out of the cars and people would die. It was settled science according to the New York Times that man would never be able to travel to the moon and back. There have been many things that are "settled science", but no real scientist ever claims scientific theories (and that is all global warming is) can never be questioned. Also, remember man made global warming science theory has NEVER accurately predicted ANYTHING. Every time its predictions turn out to be wrong, they just amend the theory and claim now this time we have it correct.

Man made caused global warming is the largest financial fraud in the history of the universe. Far exceeding cult fraud of Scientology. If anyone should be prosecuted it is the fraudsters of global warming science stealing money from the productive peoples of the world. Not those calling bullsh*t on their theft.

Sadly one of the signatories to this global warming "fatwa" is Robert Dickinson of the University of Texas. The liberal nonsensical takeover of USA universities leaves not even the Great State Of Texas out of its realm.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Comparing Newt to Trump is comparing apples to oranges due to different circumstances. The level of disgust at the RINO establishment GOP leaders is orders of magnitude different now versus then.

The club for growth ad shows in bold face what all the TV pundits and idiots like Rove and Will and Krauthammer don't understand. In times past conservative purity was important. Today, build the wall, deport the illegals, bring jobs back and Make America Great Again is more important than ANYTHING ELSE.

Since Trump is the only candidate who says he will build the wall, deport the illegals, bring jobs back and Make America Great Again, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS, including conservative purity tests.

The club for growth ads are like army generals wanting to fight the last war. They fail to recognize just how much damage Boehner and McConnell and their strategies have done to the GOP brand and the GOP base. They fail to recognize that the conservative GOP base are not as politically inept as the African American base of the democrat party. We will not continually excuse the GOP RINO establishment for failing to deliver to their base that gives them power.

We are tired of idiot leaders of our own party like McCain and Graham calling us racist for wanting to enforce our borders, opposing amnesty, and wanting to enforce our laws. We've had it with these fools who haven't figured out that the government shut down before the 2014 elections worked to benefit the GOP. We are tired of these morons who do things like paying back pay for work not performed to government employees who didn't work during a government shutdown rather than screwing that oversized overpaid workforce and encouraging 10s of thousands of them to quit.

THEY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND WE ARE MORE DISGUSTED BY BOEHNER AND MCCONNELL AND MCCAIN AND GRAHAM ET AL THAN WE ARE WITH OBAMA.

This is what the GOP RINOs and the GOP talking heads and consultants don't get, and it is why the attack ads based upon claims that Trump is not a pure conservative will totally and completely fail.

If the the GOP consultant class and TV's nattering nabobs and talking heads ran a funeral home --- nobody would die.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

In summation: the so-called smart people in the GOP are gobsmacked
because a large portion of the Republican base is attracted to a
legitimate outsider promising to:

protect the border

lower our taxes

simplify the tax code, and

kill terrorists.

He also isn’t afraid to take
on the media, and he can’t stop winning.

This is from the best article I've seen on Trump's popularity and why a large portion of the GOP base absolutely despise Boehner, McConnell, McCain, and - zero percent support presidential candidate - Graham.

Trump will build the border wall.

After saying he would build the border wall, for two long months our
corrupt media, in a desperate bid to disqualify this policy, dropped
Trump in The Barrel. He was called every “ist” in the book, boycotted by
numerous business partners, and more times than I can count, called
“road kill” by all The Smart People.
This media storm (aided by some weak-kneed Republicans) only served
to boost Trump because unlike so many in the Republican Party, when
confronted by a media attack, Trump not only refused to back down, he
effectively fought back.
Those in favor of The Wall are neither racist nor nativist nor rubes.
In fact they are smarter than many of the so-called GOP intellectuals
hurling those insults because The Rubes “get it” — they understand that
our open border is an existential threat to conservatism, and by
extension America. It’s this simple: We either fix this problem or
left-wing Democrats win a permanent majority and the Obama-era never
ends.
Maybe the bourgeois GOP are too “smart” to grasp such a simple
concept. Nevertheless, it is perfectly conservative to be a one issue
voter on this one issue.

Trump will kill terrorists.

Again, maybe the proles aren’t smart enough to grasp why bombing the
oil fields funding ISIS is a bad idea. Regardless, Trump is persuasively
aggressive on another existential threat to our way of life: Islamic
terrorism.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Millions of young males are invading the baltic and European countries. In a real refugee crisis the refugees are made up of both sexes and all age groups. They include the old, infirm and children. However in this case the refugees are overwhelmingly young adult males. These illegal migrants are really people seeking to get economic benefits from the mega welfare states of western Europe. If they were true refugees just seeking safety they would stay in Turkey where they have much more in common with the native population.

The leaders of Europe are even more brain dead and feckless than the leaders of the USA so they will never be willing to stop this occupation of their land. It is quite likely that we are witnessing what is the completion of the transformation of Europe from a christian territory to an atheist territory to ultimately in say 10 years to a muslim territory.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

We all make mistakes so don’t panic if you made one on your tax
return.

You can file an amended return if you need to fix an error. You
can also amend your tax return if you forgot to claim a tax credit or
deduction.

Here are ten tips from the IRS if you need to amend your
federal tax return.

1. When to amend. You should amend your tax return
if you need to correct your filing status, the number of dependents you
claimed, or your total income. You should also amend your return to
claim tax deductions or tax credits that you did not claim when you
filed your original return. The instructions for Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, list more reasons to amend a return.Note:If,
as allowed by recent legislation, you plan to amend your tax year 2014
return to retroactively claim the Health Coverage Tax Credit, see IRS.Gov/HCTC first for more information.

2. When NOT to amend. In some cases, you don’t need
to amend your tax return. The IRS usually corrects math errors when
processing your original return. If you didn’t include a required form
or schedule, the IRS will send you a notice via U.S. mail about the
missing item.

3. Form 1040X. Use Form 1040X
to amend a federal income tax return that you filed before. Make sure
you check the box at the top of the form that shows which year you are
amending. Since you can’t e-file an amended return, you’ll need to file
your Form 1040X on paper and mail it to the IRS.

Form 1040X has three columns. Column A shows amounts
from the original return. Column B shows the net increase or decrease
for the amounts you are changing. Column C shows the corrected amounts.
You should explain what you are changing and the reasons why on the back
of the form.

4. More than one year. If you file an amended
return for more than one year, use a separate 1040X for each tax year.
Mail them in separate envelopes to the IRS. See "Where to File" in the instructions for Form 1040X for the address you should use.

5. Other forms or schedules. If your changes have
to do with other tax forms or schedules, make sure you attach them to
Form 1040X when you file the form. If you don’t, this will cause a delay
in processing.

6. Amending to claim an additional refund. If you
are waiting for a refund from your original tax return, don’t file your
amended return until after you receive the refund. You may cash the
refund check from your original return. Amended returns take up to 16
weeks to process. You will receive any additional refund you are owed.

7. Amending to pay additional tax. If you’re filing
an amended tax return because you owe more tax, you should file Form
1040X and pay the tax as soon as possible. This will limit interest and
penalty charges.

8. Corrected Forms 1095-A. If you or anyone on your
return enrolled in qualifying health care coverage through the Health
Insurance Marketplace, you should have received a Form 1095-A, Health
Insurance Marketplace Statement. You may have also received a corrected
Form 1095-A. If you filed your tax return based on the original Form
1095-A, you do not need to file an amended return based on a corrected Form 1095-A.
This is true even if you would owe additional taxes based on the new
information. However, you may choose to file an amended return.
In some cases, the information on the new Form 1095-A may lower the
amount of taxes you owe or increase your refund. You may also want to
file an amended return if:

You filed and incorrectly claimed a premium tax credit, or

You filed an income tax return and failed to file Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, to reconcile your advance payments of the premium tax credit.

Before amending your return, if you received a letter regarding your
premium tax credit or Form 8962 you should follow the instructions in
the letter.

9. When to file. To claim a refund file Form 1040X
no more than three years from the date you filed your original tax
return. You can also file it no more than two years from the date you
paid the tax, if that date is later than the three-year rule.

10. Track your return. You can track the status of your amended tax return three weeks after you file with “Where’s My Amended Return?” This tool is available on IRS.gov or by phone at 866-464-2050.

You can get Form 1040X on IRS.gov/forms at any time.
Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. These are your Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them on IRS.gov.Additional IRS Resources:

About Me

AttorneyBritt - Gary L. Britt, CPA, J.D. is both a lawyer and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). I have over 30
years of experience helping individuals, businesses, and business
owners manage, structure, and govern their business transactions,
prepare and negotiate their contracts and agreements, protect their
assets, and successfully transfer their wealth to future generations. Contact AttorneyBritt at 512-481-2886 or by email at info@AttorneyBritt.com. I
understand that when people hire an attorney, they are often
experiencing very stressful situations. These people need someone who
cares about them. I make sure
our clients not only receive high-quality legal services, but also the
support and resources they deserve. I take your
customer experience serious. In a hectic world, I will be
there to help you make informed decisions about your individual and
business problems. See what makes Gary L. Britt, CPA, J.D. a better
choice for your legal needs.